That picture is so Tumblr-appropriate it's not even funny. I also dislike it heartily.

Haha I know nothing about megaten humor, it's probably tumblr, I just thought the image looked funny (plus one of my other forums has a hardcore Persona fan to the point it bugs me).

Quite frankly, I'd probably fall in some weird category that liked DDS more than Persona, so... i dunno.Kudos to them though for creating titles with a different flair in each. One has cannibalistic monsters fighting the Matrix, another is eyes deep in religious/apocalyptic themes, and the other is about social whatever.

I find the notion that SMT fans "welcome newcomers" kind of hilarious. They're as elitist as it gets.

A vocal minority are, but most of us are glad to see people embracing the series, even if through P3/P4.

It sure as heck irks me when P3/P4 fans refuse to play the older games or worse find them unplayable, but what're you gonna do.

And I REALLY hate to say it, but that tidbit about P3/P4 fans is pretty accurate(Except the first one, that's just being a jerk). They talk more about their favorite social links and 'waifus' than the actual games, and they're quick to have no interest in games that aren't like P3/P4.

There's a good amount who are above that thankfully, but a lot who are not.

I find SMT old-schoolers are prone to more intellectual discussions about religion and law VS. chaos.

It sure as heck irks me when P3/P4 fans refuse to play the older games or worse find them unplayable, but what're you gonna do.

Hate to break it to you, but the older games are pretty much unplayable. Despite what the image says, it's got nothing to do with "social sim elements" (which I couldn't care less about), but rather the slow combat and obnoxiously high encounter rates. I gave them a fair shake and said the heck with it. I've got better things to do with my time.

Most of the present company is excluded, but when I went onto several forums essentially saying "hey I really liked Persona 3 and 4; what other SMT games are worth trying?" I got laughed out of the room. It made me less inclined to try Nocturne or Innocent Sin (the ones I was looking at hardest) and I ended up just doing a New Game+ of Persona 4 instead. And I promise I'm not a "waifu" kind of person.

It sure as heck irks me when P3/P4 fans refuse to play the older games or worse find them unplayable, but what're you gonna do.

Hate to break it to you, but the older games are pretty much unplayable. Despite what the image says, it's got nothing to do with "social sim elements" (which I couldn't care less about), but rather the slow combat and obnoxiously high encounter rates. I gave them a fair shake and said the heck with it. I've got better things to do with my time.

That said I quite enjoyed DDS.

Well, the thing you most commonly find is that people expect P3/P4 type gameplay from P2, and are disappointed when that's not the case. They were amazing at the time, and they've aged.

Most of the present company is excluded, but when I went onto several forums essentially saying "hey I really liked Persona 3 and 4; what other SMT games are worth trying?" I got laughed out of the room. It made me less inclined to try Nocturne or Innocent Sin (the ones I was looking at hardest) and I ended up just doing a New Game+ of Persona 4 instead. And I promise I'm not a "waifu" kind of person.

That's unfortunate, but the alternate is you'll get people like me telling you to play them all. :P My favorite is Nocturne, but it's extremely unforgiving and minimalist, pretty much the complete opposite of P3/P4.(And don't get me wrong, I love P3 and P4, they're just far from the best Atlus has to offer, and they're becoming my least favorite of the PS2 era SMTs.)

i have always been curious to check out SMT's origins on the super famicom. has anyone had any experience with them? I feel like having pretty much made it through P2 IS (i'm at the temples before xibalba) I can handle anything whether it aged well or not as long as the story is solid.

EDIT: On the note of the SMT Fan vs. Persona fan thing... I can say nothing.. although I was a fan since revalations came out on ps1, I didn't REALLY get hooked until P3. So I myself am a Persona fan convert. I really can't see how one can dig persona without eventually becoming a full fledged SMT fan. And the greater the fanbase the more games we get right? If my logic in that regard is sound then I say the mainstream attention fostered by p3 and p4 can only be considered a good thing... Then again many wonderful things across the board in media came crashing down after gaining too much popularity, although I truly feel in my heart SMT is immune to that somehow..

It sure as heck irks me when P3/P4 fans refuse to play the older games or worse find them unplayable, but what're you gonna do.

Hate to break it to you, but the older games are pretty much unplayable. Despite what the image says, it's got nothing to do with "social sim elements" (which I couldn't care less about), but rather the slow combat and obnoxiously high encounter rates. I gave them a fair shake and said the heck with it. I've got better things to do with my time.

That said I quite enjoyed DDS.

The thing is the line isn't P3/P4: it's SMT:N. I find that to be when the series fully clicked for gameplay and became fantastic rather than fascinating story/setting/characters kinda bogged down with not-so-hot mechanics (though THIS is more about P2:EP and especially P1, Soul Hackers may well be different story and I'm going into it anyway for the aforementioned pros absolutely being there), and DDS and P3 continued that while Raidou did its own thing.

Admittedly while I'm not sure how it applies in your case (I can't really see how SMT:N can be too antiquated versus DDS just on gameplay alone) I do admit everyone can have very different lines of what has/hasn't aged too well. I can't bring myself to get into computer RPGs from before Fallout 1, whereas others would draw the line earlier or way later, IE nothing before Knights of the Old Republic, or even THAT being too antiquated. Same for something like FF, some just can't bring themselves to play VII whereas it's only real gameplay failing to me (as in an obstacle to enjoying) is just the lack of analog, though that is a case where the graphics can be too rough for some.

i have always been curious to check out SMT's origins on the super famicom. has anyone had any experience with them? I feel like having pretty much made it through P2 IS (i'm at the temples before xibalba) I can handle anything whether it aged well or not as long as the story is solid.

Far as I can recall they're also not really an example of easily accessible MegaTen either.